Ways to Fight and Overcome Laziness

The following guide about fighting laziness shows you ways to overcome laziness effectively. Furthermore, it gives you important tips on what you can do against laziness. Well, every one of us knows this feeling: we have a lot of work to do but a momentary feeling of laziness or even a habitual state of pure laziness prevents us from getting motivated to perform our tasks. We do not feel energized and just don’t want to do particular activities. This can either be the result of a lack of inspiration or we’re simply not encouraged enough to start working. However, laziness hinders us from the pursuit of our dreams. What is even worse: laziness reduces our life’s quality. We pursue by far less hobbies than we would if we weren’t lazy. Let’s not allow laziness to reduce the quality of our lives! Here’s what you can do against laziness.

First of all: What is laziness? Laziness is a mental state In which a person lacks energy and/or the necessary willpower and desire to perform a given task. This can have several causes, which I will explain later on.

It is time to get energized again! Let’s start fighting dilatoriness, inertia, and inactivity until we are able to overcome laziness once and for all. Here is the good news: laziness can be defeated, if we make some changes in our mindsets. Laziness can occur in different ways and has a lot of different (evil) facets. Here are some forms of laziness and ways to overcome them:

1. Lack of willpower:

One of the most common types of laziness is simply caused by a lack of willpower. Even though we know exactly how important a specific task for us can be, we still don’t have the willpower to get started. The laziness that can be attributed to a lack of willpower can be very tricky. Many people are confronted with it.

How to overcome the laziness caused by a lack of willpower?

The most important step to overcome this type of laziness is to get started, plain and simple. Start performing the tasks you have to do and get the job done that needs to be done. Something that helps you thereby is to find an “easy introduction” to the task by starting with something simple. Trust me, I’m speaking out of my own experience when I say that it is often ten times harder to get started than actually getting the job done. Once you are able to overcome this barrier you will notice that the task itself wasn’t the problem, but your lack of willpower.

2. Lack of motivation:

Another very common type of laziness is caused by a lack of motivation to get things done and/or achieve something. Such a lack of motivation can have several reasons, such as not having proper goals and aims, having no purpose in life or when not able to get motivated effectively.

How to fight laziness that is caused by a lack of motivation?

Get motivated! Increase your motivation! The most effective way to fight a lack of motivation is by knowing some excellent motivation techniques that help you to increase your motivation and to maintain it at a high level. I highly recommend you to read the following articles, that provide you some excellent motivation methods that are easy to integrate into your life (such as music) and show you some really advanced techniques that will boost your motivation:

3. Mindsets and attitudes:

In our life, we develop all kinds of different mindsets and attitudes towards life and laziness. Some people associate laziness with failure. Others associate laziness with pure pleasure. They consider it as a protective mechanism allowing them to avoid additional work. Sigmund Freud argued that laziness is a proper way for human beings to find pleasure, as they take pleasure from not doing anything (for further references see: Beyond the pleasure principle). The so-called intuitive laziness is a protective mechanism that gets applied by people that feel that a given task might not produce the desired outcome. For this reason, the task is neglected. This kind of laziness is so dangerous because if a task actually turns out to be unnecessary, it just reaffirms this person’s laziness.

These people have built the (negative) attitude that laziness can help them save time. This strategy might work in some cases, but it is counterproductive in the long-run. The second way laziness is used as a protective mechanism is when it comes to fear, such as the fear to fail, the fear of being responsible, etc.

How to fight negative attitudes that cause laziness?

The very first step to fighting laziness caused by negative mindsets is to realize that a specific attitude or mindset is wrong or non-beneficial for you. You need to realize that procrastinating work is not the right solution to avoid unnecessary tasks. Furthermore, realize that using laziness to avoid confronting your fears is not helpful either. In fact, it will only increase your problems in life.

4. Procrastination:

Procrastination can be seen as a form of laziness as well, as postponing tasks has a lot to do with the laziness to actually do something. People postpone things for several reasons, one of them is laziness. Procrastination and laziness have in common that different excuses prevent us from starting to do what we need to do or what we would like to do.

How to fight procrastination?

First of all, the habit of postponing things reduces our chances of accomplishment. Plainly spoken: it takes our chance to achieve whatever we desire to reach. In order to overcome procrastination, it is very helpful to split tasks whenever these tasks seem impossible to accomplish. Split these difficult tasks into sub-tasks. This will help you to tackle one sub-task after another. Doing so will not only enable you to get started, but it will also help to maintain your motivation to accomplish the task.

The first step towards overcoming laziness is in many cases the most difficult one

These were four of the most common causes for laziness and ways to overcome these sorts of laziness. In the following you will find some more detailed tips to fight laziness:

How to overcome laziness?

Simple things first: As I already mentioned, it is important to get started with the task you want to perform in order to fight laziness effectively. An effective trick that helps you doing so is to start with the simple things first. Doing so will help you to break your inner resistance.

Step-by-step: Breaking down tasks into smaller tasks helps us to reduce the pressure of deadlines and will keep us motivated to perform these tasks one after the other in a relaxed manner. Once you have completed one sub-task you can tell yourself that you’re on a roll and that you will soon have finished the next sub-tasks as well.

Make a to-do list: Sometimes we find ourselves in chaotic situations with a pile of work. It’s really difficult not to lose track of all the work that needs to be done. A to-do-list can help us in these situations to regain the overview, but even more importantly: it allows us to realize that it often looks like more work than it actually is. When you create your to-do-list make sure to arrange the tasks from the easiest one to the more difficult ones, which helps you to start with the simple things first.

Visualize the benefits of a task/activity: Everytime I feel lazy or lack the motivation to perform a task I visualize for some seconds how it would feel to just start the work that needs to be done in a very enthusiastic way. I visualize the benefits that I could receive once I have accomplished a given task, which helps me to become energized and motivated again. Furthermore, it helps to beat the inner resistance that was hindering me to get involved with my tasks.

Remove distractions: I noticed that distractions were often the source for my laziness and the sole reason I became lazy from one moment to the other. It made me realize that I was attracted by the distractions (TV, the internet, etc.) as my primary task that I should have done seemed boring. Whatever it is that distracts you (and I’m sure you know exactly what is distracting you when you have to study, work or need to get things done) remove it! Make sure that once you have started with one of your tasks you will not get distracted from it by any means. All these distractions might seem tempting but they make it more difficult for you to get back to your work.

Reward yourself: Every time you managed to overcome laziness and successfully accomplished a task you should reward yourself, as this will help you to associate positive feelings about making efforts to get things done. Just make sure to adapt the reward to the efforts you made (small efforts & small tasks = little reward and vice versa).

Feel free to leave a response about what helps YOU to overcome laziness!

About Author

Steve is the founder of Planet of Success, the #1 choice when it comes to motivation, self-growth and empowerment. This world does not need followers. What it needs is people who stand in their own sovereignty. Join us in the quest to live life to the fullest!

108 Comments

The secret to overcome this type of laziness is to get started, plain and simple. – HOW???? 🙁

Steeeeeeve is not that I don’t know by myself that my exam is not difficult for me is just I don’t know how to start studying for it. Therefore your advice for overcoming lack of willpower laziness does not help me at all. the question is what to do to start after I start I know I can done the task in a minute.

Hey Sabina, I wanted to emphasize with my formulation “get started” how important it is to just begin with the task of studying, no matter what. If you know the date of your exam, sit yourself down and prepare a “study-schedule” where you specify when you intent to begin studying for the exam and where you write down the amount of learning material you plan to study each day. And once that day has come (when you intended to begin studying) really sit down and work off the amount of teaching material you have scheduled for that day.

So instead of worrying about being not motivated or lazy, force yourself to begin with your task. My experience has shown that once you have overcome the obstacle of laziness,
it is by far easier to continue with your task. Therefore, it is so crucial just to get started, with little amounts of studying and step by step, until you’re used to.

Quick overview:

1. Make a to-do-list, a “learning-schedule”
2. Begin with simple tasks first
3. Work your goals/tasks step-by-step off, do not try to get it all done within one day
4. Visualize the possible benefits of a task, for instance an outstanding grade
5. Remove distractions, such as TV, internet that could offer you excuses for being lazy
6. Reward yourself whenever you have managed to overcome laziness.

Sorry if this article didn’t provide you the help you were searching for.

I searched on Google for how to overcome laziness and it took me here. Well, I have to agree with you. As a student, I find myself being very lazy to study. I always have distractions like internet, or my laptop. Also, I find reasons, like well, I’m too lazy, or the exams are still far, or I still have tomorrow to study.

But when I start putting just a little effort to kickstart, things start to work. It works out for awhile, but then for example, when I come across something hard, perhaps a tough question, I get all lazy to open up my reference book, and I end up quitting and perhaps sleeping in the end. I know this is bad, and my real exams are coming soon, what would you advice? :/

Hey Whiteheads on Nose, maybe you lack the motivation to study? I found myself in a very similar situation, lacking motivation, being a bit too lazy to study, getting distracted by all the things I would rather to (instead of studying). As a result, I began to prolong, telling myself that I would begin to study tomorrow, and then the day after tomorrow and so on.

What did I do to overcome this kind of laziness? I set myself some goals and I rewarded myself for accomplishing those objectives. Several years ago, I needed some great marks that I could enroll at university. I also planned to buy a notebook at that time, so I told myself that I would reward myself with a notebook, as soon as I was enrolled at the university of my choice. If I would fail, I wouldn’t be allowed to buy that notebook, hence forcing me to use the computers of my roommates, friends or parents – something I really did not wanted to do any longer.

Basically, I piled the pressure a little bit by holding out the prospect of getting my own notebook (something I dreamt of for a very long time). And miraculously, I began to study harder and more focused than ever. I wasn’t studying for my teachers, parents or anyone else. I was studying because I had a dream and I knew I would be fulfilling this dream, no matter what. Maybe, if you find a challenging objective and a fabulous reward, it helps you to stir your motivation to study, hence eliminating the laziness.

Yeah, I definitely think the “motivation” one is probably the biggest key factor. You have to be working towards something you really love and believe in… Then, it hardly ever feels like work! Doesn’t mean it’s all fun, but the master goal overshadows everything else. Great article! I made a comedy video about overcoming laziness, to give people a song to sing to themselves when faced with it lol. Check it out and please share it if you like it! http ://youtu.be/kpShPFMp1h8

Hey Steve. Thank you so much for this post. It’s a huge blessing.
I still got some questions. I am not sure if I am lazy or what?!
I find myself at language school (german class). I need german for my future studies as I will study in Switzerland. Now, I have all I need. i am motivated (sometimes even way too much motivated), i got professional help etc. but when I have to sit down and get it done, i simply fail to do it every time. I have to learn vocabulary, grammar, rules etc. andi just don’t have will to do it. I know i need then if I want to study in Swizerland, my books and teachings will be in german so i really need a good german knowlegde but I just cant study. I go to library, leave my mobile at home. But as soon as I sit down, my though get lost. i think about something that doesnt matter and when I “come back” it’s time to go home =( any suggestions??Thanks.

Hi Igor, do you have a favorite sitcom, book or movie? Try to watch them in the German language – with or without subtitles. And try to read the book in the German language. At the beginning, it will totally ****, as you have to look up a thousand words that you didn’t know, but later you will tremendously benefit from that!

If you’re able to combine learning with the fun & joy you have of watching your favorite movie, you’ll learn a lot easier.

Frequent German-language websites about topics that you are truly interest in – even if you don’t understand much of it. As time goes by, you’ll learn a lot of the vocabulary, grammar and the rules. And once the day comes where you can watch a movie, or read a book, in German, you can congratulate yourself for all your effort.

Hello Steve! Googled “how to fight laziness” and finally stopped by your page! Contrary to Sabina, i think your idea- get started- hit the nail on the head! Although Im quite good at school but still feel lazy at times. Did you do well at school/uni ?
Thanks a lot!
Oh, and I think maybe music is one powerful source of energy ! I love to start a day with “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi!

You’re welcome! I was an average student and had average grades when I was a teenager. I then worked for some time and went back to school and from thereon my grades became really good, I think mainly because I had grown up and considered studying as my “job”.

I think Manish is referring to someone who is dyslexic, or has ADD or something similar. Or it may be something very cultural and would need an explanation.
If not cultural:
ex. teacher writes something on the board and the son does not write everything missing crucial details (teacher: I don’t want to leave. I love you and I’m not leaving without you”. Student “I don’t love you and I’m leaving without you.” — has a few words missing changing the message), or writes down the wrong thing (teacher: ‘2+5=7 student 2+5=6), or interprets what is being read as something else than what is actually being taught (”if it rains the streets are wet” being a question of logic, and the son writes, ‘teacher spoke about raining days”). Therefore the number of mistakes being written means that many things (a number) written are wrong.

i have been reading various articles about overcoming laziness but your article is superb. it’s simple, easy to read, understandable etc. am blessed, i will be happy to read more of your articles. Thanks

I find the problem with all these suggestions, settings goals, time frames, rewarding yourself, is for people, who without knowing it perhaps, are already half-way there, to the right path and just needed the right boost or method. To me no such thing works. Consider the ‘reward/punish method mentioned here. To me this means like there are 2 of you–in comics shown as a little devil on your left shoulder and an angel on your right shoulder. So ‘angel’ controls/takes over ‘devil’. Well to me they are equally smart. I could tell myself that I will reward myself (or punish) all I want knowing full well that I do not have to listen to that at all. So I don’t in other words this technique works once or twice and then fails–a story that all dieters know. So you see if it works for you and keeps on working for you it is because you were 1/2 way there all along. The same goes for all other methods techniques described. ‘Create a schedule’, ‘to-do list’, ‘baby steps’,’write things down’? What are you kidding? If I could do that I wouldn’t have such a problem.
No, to some of us the problem is much deeper–Yes it is a case of lack of motivation or something similar but herein lacks the key perhaps. Not ‘What do we need to get motivated” which is important, but why aren’t we motivated in the 1st place. I could give many examples whereby one would think one would be extremely motivated to do thing A or B, with immediate rewards as well-no need to wait like in some cases and still there was no action. Here’s a silly example. Consider being 17 where sexual desire is strong, instinctual, a part of nature and DNA. Consider yourself being in a situation whereby you know with little effort thanks to this and that you could get where you want–all it really takes is a phone call to make a date. I could give you many times when I never made such a phone call being distracted by something else and then it being too late. Yes, there are times when I did make that phone call but I could not really tell you why it was made at times and not others, except for one thing; laziness

Generally, when I’m writing an article I try to put down the things that I believe could have the potential to help other people. It is, however, natural that every article is written from my own perspective so I can only say what I do and what works for me in order to get rid of my laziness. Unfortunately, I am quite aware of the fact that it’s not always possible to help everyone in their individual situation.

During the last years I have realized how important and how powerful it is to find unique and individual solutions to one’s problems, instead of applying general tips by the masses. For me, it is by far more effective when I work through a problem in order to find my own solution to it, instead of doing what everybody recommends.

I want to add something to the above. It is my feeling that the lazy person feels, in the given 17-year-old example, as if that phone call shouldn’t need to be made, that the solution comes to you on its own accord. outside of that any effort, no matter how small, is too much of an effort: like a king in ancient times whereby anything that needed to be done could be done by the flick of a finger by someone else for you. That’s what the truly lazy person feels s/he needs and if having such power would never be considered lazy since everything that needed to be done or wants to be done is done. Yes, but woold there be any satisfaction in that? At times no, but other times yes and yet other times it wouldn’t make a difference.

I have wasted sooooo much time because of laziness so now I am completely lost I am 17 and I have all moody desires like watching tv. I do no whether my age is making me do such things. I have lost hopes on upcoming exams … Please help

Hi Ash, first of all please don’t worry. What you describe is very normal for a teenager. What is important is to understand that your moody desires such as watching the television, Internet smart phone etc. could be the cause for this laziness. So the very first step you can take is to get rid of these distractions, at least during the time when you have to study. The second aspect is that you could try to develop more motivation for studying. If you like you can have a look at this article, which could provide some assistance for this: How to get motivated to study. But you can also feel free after reading this article to contact me once again and describe your situation in more detail, and I will see what else you can do in order to improve the situation.

hi sir, I have read the article that you have suggested. it was great and indeed I have developed some motivation. I have a wandering mind and do not know how to control it. I tried meditation but still I cannot control it. I have trouble in having a continued study habit. I take long breaks . even if I do get motivated the next day I am the same lazy person.my exams are just days away. I want to have a change in myself quite badly and get rid of my daydreams .

Now you also write that you want to have a change. But for this change you need to become active. You need to change. There must be the willingness to do this. And not just the willingness, but you will also have to start. Just start, just begin and from then on you can work further. You will still feel as if you are the same lazy person as yesterday. So this means that you will still have to motivate yourself day after day after day to get up and do it again. And after doing this for a very long time you will see positive change.

And one more thing sir, I am kind of shy and my social skills are not so practised in front of crowd…. So is this going to affect my future…. I am a science student and I aim to do aerospace engineering and I have dreams of going to space…. Is my social skills going to affect this…. I am extremely good in calculus and of course maths(I love maths) ..
I do have a wandering mind sir…. A mind can be your enemy if you have no control over it,…. And that is what is happening to me . Do provide any suggestions

Actually, I liked What you’ve said about Laziness and i find it true because I think There are peope out there Who think about other things other than just TV or Video Games which means they Have dreams they want to make them true and they have also a great potential but their problem is laziness (the feeling of not wanting to do anything stressful or that need some hard work to acomplish ) so they choose to keep doing what they do each day which is TV and Video games for example. So i think your post is a good guide to these people in order to overcome laziness and become productive and achieve their dreams.

Thanks Steve.. The article was good enough.
But the problems I face is gaming. Nothing interests me than gaming. I have a bit of addiction towards gaming and music. These things stop me from studying and working out. Pls help.

First of all I loved your article , it’s really useful for the mental laziness , actually some time I believed I have all the reason that u mention 🙁 but I start to think, u know maybe I also need to rise my blood circulation , I think that the key to succeed fight the laziness is a synergism between both physical and mental aspects >>>>> I’m still trying, I hope I will succeed me and all who read this , and again thank you , because believe it or not your article helped me through a tough time .

I’m so glad that I could help you. You raise such an important point that I have never articulate before, but I do agree with you that laziness could also be caused from the body. I have totally forgotten this aspect.

Hey Steve, I’m a freelance writer and I can’t seem to sit down and complete the task at hand for my client . I feel as if I don’t know how to start the sentence, A sense of not knowing what to do or being on knowledge.How can I overcome this

Hi Ted, maybe my article on overcoming writer’s block can help you. In general, I believe what you experience is very normal for a writer. I feel the same every once in a while. I think the biggest issue is that you might not write pieces you’re personally tremendously interested in. It is a task you have to accomplish, not a passion of yours. What I do when I have no idea on how to start an article is that I skipped the introduction and try to write the main part of the article. This helps me to get a feeling of the article and once I’ve finished it, I skipped to the introduction and it feels easier to write it. The second thing you could do is that you try to get inspired, for instance by reading similar pieces about your subject. Sometimes I get so inspired when I read someone else’s work that I immediately get new ideas how I could write an article.

Finding motivation and avoiding distractions is a good summary of this I think.

But how do you know what motivates you? It’s not like I have lost all hope but I’m married and we have little kids at home. You don’t even have the time to sit down and figure out what you want to do with yourself.

More important than fighting laziness is to make yourself feel good. Ever heard of “happy wife happy life”. The same apply to mom. The better mom feels the more positive energy passes on to her kids and family.

So the hardest part for his is to find out what you want to do and what makes you happy, even what your good at. In turn it will keep you motivated as long as you do it.

In the last exam I studied everything… And I knew the answer but couldn’t write completely.. Time shortage.. I never tasted backlog but last time I got 1 backlog… That made me to quit education.. Because of my parents I stayed… I never study for my exams in lower grade but got first class and distinctions… But I feel I became dull.. And one more thing I love biology but now am an engineering student…

It often feels as if one has become dull. But what it really is it is in my opinion just the process of noticing that you are no longer used to studying. Studying is like a habit that one has to nurture so that it grows and develops. But if you don’t use it it becomes weak like a muscle you don’t use.

I have exam tomorrow… But I am not talking seriously… In the last exam even I know all answer I couldn’t attend because of time shortage… I never studied for my exams in my lower grade.. But I used get distinction… But now I have back log even I study… I love biology but am an engineering student..

Dear Steve, first of all I would like to say thanks for this good artical , secondly I want to share my problem with u hope u will give me some suggestions or advices . The problem is I eagerly want to do something in my life , that is not easy to achieve but I have believe I can do , I have a lot talent for that and feel that I born for that but my family opposed me a lot .I m around 21 yrs old and trying to do that from last 7 yrs but failed due to lack of Family support and becoz of this I sufferd a lot from depression and stress,from last yr I Have overcome the problem of depression but still feel stress sometimes. due to this situation I m unable to do anything by heart and feel laziness, Even now I feel laziness to do my routine works. Plz help me and suggest me what to do becoz I can’t satisfy my self to do something else in my life . My aim my target my dream my life my everything is that without that there is no other reason or purpose to live for me . And also suggest me how to overcome laziness and stress by keeping my problem in mind .

Your family is important, but never let them stand in between you and your passions. There are two ways you can follow in life: either you do what your family wants you to do, which might not necessarily make you happy. Or you follow your dreams, which might not necessarily make your family happy but will give you freedom. But then again, if you follow your dreams, these dreams must be so excellent and worthwhile to you that anything else does not seem important to you. So it your family does not support you, you need to fuel all the energy from pursuing your dreams. And if you are good at it your family will one day acknowledge it. But if you are even struggling to get motivated to pursue your dreams, then these dreams might not be strong enough. If you have a true mission that you want to accomplish in life, and there will be nothing else that can prevent you from stopping it. If you want to pursue your dream just as strong as you want to breathe after you have been underwater for one minute, then it is the right aim.

Hi I am a student in my final year of schooling. This is a really informative article , after reading this I figured that even I am a culprit of laziness. I have adopted a very casual attitude towards my studies and I am not motivated enough to study. I have wasted a lot of time and my exams are close and still I am not bothered about them. There is no intention to get good marks. Also when I set goals I am not able to achieve them and they are quite unrealistic. Please help me Steve.

Sure, I think most students struggle with study motivation. Have you already read my article about the subject? It can be found here. If the article does not help, feel free to comment again and I will see what I can do.

Hi Steve I read that article of yours it was really helpful, I wanted to share something else as well. I have observed that I waste a lot of time. Only when the deadline day comes I start to panic and then get started. When I have free time to study I waste that time even though I know that I have to study for my exam. Also I keep thinking and don’t take action. Please guide me.

There are so many students who are facing the same problem. I believe that most people needs this certain kind of stress in order to get going. However, as soon as you start convincing yourself that you can prepare yourself better for an exam if you take yourself the necessary time, then you might be able to start changing things. Use the time that you have to prepare yourself for the exam, that way you can avoid all the stress shortly before an upcoming test.

Thanks a lot Steve and love you 🙂
I believe that your post absolutely will help me a lot.
When i will be completely follow all your valuable Tips regularly and when my life will be change.surely i will msg you ….to say thanks again .

hi Steve…. I have gone through your article on how to over come laziness… But I still don’t get it because I still feel distracted…. I can’t study because of tv shows and movies….. I think my case is becoming too critical what should I do? I feel a serious urge to study but I am too lazy…..

Hi Elizabeth, maybe the problem is not your laziness, but your difficulty at concentrating and focusing. Please have a look at the following article, which is specifically designed for students that want to improve their concentration: study focus for students.

If that doesn’t help feel free to get back at me and I will have a look at your situation.

Hey Steve ,your concept of intuitive laziness moved me!! and as you said that we should break the task and move from the easiest to harder one so that we break our internal barrier to work .However if I consider Robin Sharma’s approach ,he says that we should first do the hard tasks and then move to easy one,so what will you say on this?

This approach is also excellent. But it’s not important which one is more effective. What is really important is which approach is more effective for you. Every person will differ on this. If you find it easier to do the hard tasks first to overcome laziness, then by all means go for it.

thanks i needed that doze of willpower u know i knew all of it (this is for the study kinda thing) but i missed one and that was that i used to make shedules that i’ll study this subject this this day but now i understand that until i don’t know the precise amount of job i wont feel like doing at the time when it has to be done so now i use to select things like which notes are to be learnt at which day

Hello sir, your article is really great.Still I am facing problems with my studies.I’m in my final year at school. I have got exams next month and a lot to study.I changed my school last year .It’s almost two years and I just cannot adjust with the new school. I still find it difficult to get along with the kids and teachers there.I always managed to get an average or above average results at my previous school.But now I cannot perform well in exams.I know they’re important and all but I’m too lazy and performance are really bad.As you have told I’ve minimised the use of internet and all.Being an underperformer I have a lot of people around me forcing to study well all the time like my parents and teachers.But it’s not making me do any better.I don’t know what is stopping me.I don’t have an aim or ambition in life to motivate myself.l’ve been trying hard to find a purpose in my life..read a lot of articles…yet I could not find any.I don’t what I am going to do or what I want to do with my life.I have wandering mind.I keep thinking about many things and find it very difficult to concentrate.I get really tired when I return from school everyday. Even if start studying then I will either end up sleeping or realising my mind is elsewhere.I don’t have any of these problems on the previous day of exams .I usually study hard on that day and of course It won’t help me perform well in exams.This time I thought I could start studying a bit earlier….but its really difficult…now I think this exam will also be as same as usual for me.

First of all, try to be calm. You’re in an entirely different environment with so many new influences that it’s difficult to adapt. We all go through this process when we change school or universities. It’s only human.

I’ve written two articles that might be of great help in your situation:

I honestly believe that good nutrition should not be underestimate. It’s probably one of the most important aspect to consider when you lack of energy/willpower. I’m a college student, and most of my friends tends to start eating unhealthy when exams are coming. This is a huge error! If your diet start to lack of crucial nutrients also your energy, motivation and grades will be impacted.

As a engineering student here I find myself with low attiude towards study but your article helped me alot Thankyou STEVE………….But the another thing am depressed about your article is yours explanation towards self motivation is not getting it to my way find…..please help me to find it

Many people mistakenly assume that others can motivate them. But in the end, only you can motivate yourself properly. Have a look at my article about the ways to get motivated, it will definitely help you to boost motivation.

My board examnations are going on,, i gave what i had in physucs exam,,but m very dobtfulll if i can score 60/70coz i didnt study one chap,,now m not feeling to do any revision for my upcoming chem exam,,what is my problem,,can u plss help me??

M sorry sir to resend you that comment,some technical fault might have occured,,i think your suggstion would help mee,,n i will get 88or above in chem as it is easier than phy,,just i need 2b motivated till the last hours if my exams,,your article r always hepful,,going to give all i have within me,,thanq

hello sir, your article is very good and inspiring.
but i have a bit different case. i know what is right for me and what all things i should do to success-ed in life. like for example i need to exercise or workout to be fit, and i’ll do it with zest for 5-7 days, than i don’t feel like doing. i don’t the reason why this is happening with me.
sir please help with with whatever advise you have!

Simply knowing what is necessary to succeed is not enough. What it takes is to do what is necessary, no matter if you feel like it or not. If you struggle with the building of beneficial habits, try to work on your patience and perseverance. I recommend that you start training your mind and willpower. This can be accomplished by stopping to watch television, stopping to play video games etc. This is the first aspect of becoming mentally stronger. The second aspect is to meditate each day for one hour. You will see that if you are able to do so, you will quickly increase your willpower.

I’m a girl, 15 years of age, a 10th grader, and next year, I’m supposively going to study in an expensive senior highschool, but something happened to me that made my parents realize I am not suitable to study there afterall.

I don’t know when, but it happened all of a sudden before I took the entrance exam. We still have classes that day and I was absent just to take it. I was really working hard, but a thought also came to me “Yes! I can skip class! It’s fine if I’m not present, I can study and finish everything at home!”.

After I took the entrance examinations, I told myself that I should start doing our school activities now and study the lessons I missed, but what did I do? I slacked off.

Until now, I’ve been trying to motivate myself to go to school. I do go, but always late. Still doing activities, but only in class. If I can’t finish it at school, I won’t do it in our house. I feel guilty because my parents’ effort are getting wasted. My parents gave me counceling but it never worked!

Now, the pressure is rising, especially because my father is a lawyer. He wants me to have a better future than him. What I’m doing now is an embarrassment to our family. I know what I’m doing, but why am I like this? I don’t seem to care anymore.

I always lock myself in my room, I don’t talk to anyone anymore, I don’t seem to be in the mood to go out with my friends, and I don’t like to go to school! But at the same time, I wan’t to!

We’re having classes today, and today is also the deadline of some of our projects, intead of going to school now, I am here commenting, too lazy to go out of my room. I really need an advice.

First of all, I think these mood changes are pretty normal in your age. Similarly, what you are going through is not unnormal, it’s the most natural thing for a brave young person such as yourself. As much as have parents want you to behave as an adult, as much today have to accept that you haven’t still made the experiences to be fully adult. Have you already read my popular article on the different strategies to get motivated for studying?

remove distraction and reward yourself . hahahah i think i will be trying this. I think i really am lazy and i get distracted easily. yes. thank you, author! please write more this really is refreshing.

Hi sir! I found your article very impressive and I agree with whatever you tell…but the problem with me is that i do know everything and the methods to overcome laziness but still I can’t put it into action. I don’t have the problem with getting the way but i feel it impossible for me to implement in reality.Would you please help me?I would be very grateful to you if you could.

Good evening Steve,
I really liked your article and I found it helpful. but there is a problem with me! I’m 24. I have a plan for my future and I know what should I do for my dream. but when it comes to action I make it difficult for myself. you know basically, I’ve not done anything for last year!!
When I am in my bed and want to sleep I think about my dreams and visualize them for myself and I say to myself tomorrow I will start and kick my ***, and interestingly that time I’m full of energy and I feel I’m the strongest man in the world and I can change myself and so on!!!. but when I wake up in the morning I say to myself put it for tomorrow!! or I’ll do it next week!! and now it’s been a year I’ve done nothing!!
Sometimes I prepare a to-do list or schedule for my next week but when it’s time to do them I became lazy again and again
I think I’m wasting my life for nothing. plz, help me. I’m becoming crazy!!

HiFarzad, the real question is, what are you doing instead? What is it that is more fun to you than actively creating a bright future for yourself? Analyze what it is that stops you from taking action. Is it watching too much television? Spending too much time on the Internet? Whatever this, stop doing it or at least limit its consumption. At the same time, it may also prove to be helpful, to start reading some extremely inspirational or motivational books. When there’s nothing that you can procrastinate with, these books will spur of the fire within you to get going.

I’m 69 male remained very active and social whole life and remain head of Social Services for last 15 years trapped in sevre mental and physical sickness, since last four years due some sevre family crisis and since then I am completely mentaly sick and isolated and now not able to drive due weak eyesight due side effects of medication. Sometime I feel I’m finding excuses not to work but my physical and mental sickness, constant worries, emotional pains, anxiety, Dipression attacks don’t let me get out of the house and now my position Treatment resistance sickness. I read your blog and wanted to try but not feel motivated or energized. I am helpless, hopeless, sad and worthless. Please, if you can advice and help.

Hello steve
Really nice article helped me to know about cause of laziness. In my case cause of laziness is to not decide a proper goal.
At single time one goal related to my field of graduation and at same time another goal related to opposite field of my graduation. Problem is that if i choose one goal then other must have to leave . Due to this i am not successfully take any action to work on my goals which result in cause of my laziness.
Please give me direction to solve my problem.

I’m 69 male mentally and physically very sick dependant living with married son , his wife n grand sons for more then 15?years happily but since last four months my son stopped talking to me under same roof, similarly his wife n kids also followed him so we both now extremely mentaly and physicaly sick parents completly devastated, humiliated and going through miserable pain. I being severely dipressed and anxiety patient partially bed ridden due side effects of medicines developed many physical sicknesses…. being dependant, so much attached and loved by son n his family both way, failed to understand this unbearable and miserable situation. Lost all hopes and interests means got completely lazy and no reason of purpose of life seems visible. Earlier I got therepies n medicines etc became treatment resistant so nothing working. Sorry I may be deviated from the subject so you may edit all irrelevant stuff.
Bottom line is I have no motivation, energy, ability, resources or Eligiblity to work with this mental and physical sickness. What should I do to cope and motivate my self to accept this fact and develope patience and coping skill and motivate myself to do something to get out of bed and face the challenges of life. I don’t know… may be moderator will not post this then please atleast email me some advice, guidence and help, only if possible. Kindly forgive me and God Bless you..,., All my efforts to talk to my son failed. Involving any outsider may create more problems, confusions and misunderstandings so we avoid that. As we noticed our son got very stubborn n may insult if someone else interfere. Fortunately so far he has not kicked us out .

Please, continue trying to talk with your son. Try to discover what the problem is and see how you can solve the issue. There must be a reason why he does no longer talk to you. Try to uncover this reason and see how you can solve the issue. Secondly, try every day to push yourself a little further. Try to get out of your bed try to take a short walk, and try to increase slightly with each day. Thirdly, analyze your diet and cut out everything that is making you sick. Don’t eat sugar, don’t drink alcohol, don’t eat unhealthy processed foods, eat a lot of vegetables, and the general replace everything that is unhealthy with healthy food.

I always feel my self too lazy but when i see my books infornt of me i think that today i will do some study but after some time my head is paining and i sleep so what should i do to preparemy self for studies

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